May 30, 2018
07:57 am JST

This guy is NOT a racist he is an opportunist. He took advantage of a group of people who either could not understand Japanese currency or had so much money they did not pay attention. He should have received some form of criminal punishment He probably needs cash more than ever now that he is unemployed.. Unpunished what will his next crime be?

May 28, 2018
03:12 pm JST

May 28, 2018
11:37 am JST

He could be a thief, but its more likely he took from people who he figured don’t count their change or from those who know less (foreigners).

So you are claiming foreigners who come to Japan are stupid! Yeah, excuse their stupidity for coming a nation with one of the lowest crime rates expecting not to be ripped-off! And no "he could be a thief", he IS a thief. He got caught thieving for his own gains.

them bullet trains tickets aint cheap... if the customers are rich enough to not care or not notice they paid for an extra ... then I reckon its totally fair play.

You really have an angst against wealthy people and no idea how businesses should operate. Just because I buy a bullet train ticket, it doesn't make me "rich". Maybe I saved long and hard so I could afford it and go somewhere nice.

May 27, 2018
07:58 am JST

May 26, 2018
05:07 pm JST

The ticket prices are already complete rip offs. The JR Shinkansen needs some competition and fast. When traveling by plane to overseas to other countries is cheaper than Shinkansen to Tokyo, you're gonna turn off potential riders for sure.

Shinkansen prices are fully comparable with high speed trains on the European continent. Think lot of commenters complaining about prices are referring to the height of their wages. Many tourist destinations are messed up by 'cheap thrill' tourists so plane tickets to some destinations should be doubled :)

May 26, 2018
11:24 am JST

The ticket prices are already complete rip offs. The JR Shinkansen needs some competition and fast. When traveling by plane to overseas to other countries is cheaper than Shinkansen to Tokyo, you're gonna turn off potential riders for sure.

As for the fool charging foreigners, well, I hope it was worth it for him. Enjoy unemployment buddy. Unless JR turns their head on this one.

May 25, 2018
10:20 pm JST

May 25, 2018
04:34 pm JST

Unbelievable! I know bullet trains are not cheap but for someone to actively plan and execute such an endeavour is truly staggering. This is not exactly the kind of publicity Japan or its transport network needs right now, especially with the upcoming Olympics and Rugby World Cup!

May 25, 2018
12:58 pm JST

May 25, 2018
12:36 pm JST

Yet another example of a Japanese criminal being treated leniently by jingoist authorities. I have compiled many reports of such behavior. Authorities are lenient with and even shelter Japanese who commit crimes against foreigners but throw the book at foreigners who commit the slightest intended or accidental infraction against a Japanese. I have reported this behavior to int'l media numerous times. I don't see Japan changing this disgraceful trait anytime soon. There will be hell to pay when foreigners start venting their anger against Japanese here and abroad.

May 25, 2018
12:33 pm JST

Tourists are the targets of scams and thievery all over the world. I think many say "racist" because the Japanese native population happens to be pretty homogeneous (for example in the U.S. you'd have to target people who didn't seem to speak English well because race is not an indicator of who is a foreigner and who isn't). I bet this guy made sure his victims were the ones who couldn't speak/read Japanese.

Pretty low behavior, not getting scammed and ripped off and tricked as much as in other countries is one of Japan's appeal points as a tourist destination I think. He should be punished.

May 25, 2018
09:04 am JST

This is a typical worldwide "rip of the tourists" scam. Is it called racism when it happens in Bali or Vietnam? Is it racism when they try to sell you a $1 pair of sunglasses for $50, even though they dont try to charge a local that much for them?

May 25, 2018
07:57 am JST

Crazy! Why posters call a simple crime and cheating racist? The obvious is clearly that this man tried to exploit foreigners because they are not familiar with the payment system. Simply a small and dirty criminal as they are existing all over the world. That is all.

Because they lack critical thinking. That criminal scum, who was a Japanese, is indeed a thief exploiting foreign tourists but no where in the article does it indicate that he did it based on racist intent. But posters can't grasp the concept of what racism is and automatically scream of it when they read that a foreigner was the victim of a crime by a Japanese without anything further to base it on. You can only shake your head and laugh at those statements.

May 25, 2018
05:04 am JST

May 25, 2018
04:52 am JST

My wife and I picked up Shinkansen tickets at Shin-Osaka in April. But we had the rail pass. I knew I would save a lot of money buying the pass - looks like I might have saved a little more than I thought.

May 25, 2018
04:39 am JST

Crazy! Why posters call a simple crime and cheating racist? The obvious is clearly that this man tried to exploit foreigners because they are not familiar with the payment system. Simply a small and dirty criminal as they are existing all over the world. That is all.

And to those posters who immediately cry racist I need to say: My suspect is that these posters are shouting racist because a Japanese did it. A Japanese which gives these posters the symbolic opportunity to express their own deep racist hate against Japanese people.

May 25, 2018
04:12 am JST

May 25, 2018
12:40 am JST

@ CH3CHOToday 06:56 pm JST Article 239 of Code of Criminal Procedure says that ANY person, if victim or not, can file a complaint to the public prosecutor or the police of a crime that the person knows happened.

I spent years in Japanese courts as rep for Hollywood studios fighting film piracy and my own case of victimization of hit, assault and run. Japanese judges make rulings based on their own whim with no observance of civil or criminal codes. The legal system in Japan is a complete sham. Japanese call it 'chaban' a farce.

May 24, 2018
11:44 pm JST

Yet another example of a Japanese criminal being treated leniently by jingoist authorities. I have compiled many reports of such behavior. Authorities are lenient with and even shelter Japanese who commit crimes against foreigners but throw the book at foreigners who commit the slightest intended or accidental infraction against a Japanese. I have reported this behavior to int'l media numerous times. I don't see Japan changing this disgraceful trait anytime soon. There will be hell to pay when foreigners start venting their anger against Japanese here and abroad.

May 24, 2018
10:58 pm JST

May 24, 2018
10:23 pm JST

Racism is rife within Japan, it's just subtle and generally masked with Politeness - from the casual "oh your Japanese is so good", when it's not, to the meddling around and making things more difficult than they should be just for a laugh (prank).

That said, targeting foreigners is not necessarily racist, it's just preying upon the more challenged, and would akin to stealing candy from a baby, or the life savings from a Pensioner. Both are Criminal cases, as too the one in this story.

May 24, 2018
10:07 pm JST

I think the real story here is why no charges were filed. I can only guess that any trial date would be past the tourist visa date? I think this is more a crime of opportunity without having more information about the perpetrator. Who easier to steal from than folks out of their element and focused on where they are heading next more than being short changed. Glad he was caught all the same.

May 24, 2018
10:03 pm JST

May 24, 2018
10:00 pm JST

Oh, so you mean these facts. "he targeted passengers who appeared to be foreigners."

But the post didn't state which "foreigners"so they could have also be Chinese or Korean. The largest single group of tourists are both of those. That would have made them all asians, so how would that have been racist.

May 24, 2018
09:58 pm JST

May 24, 2018
09:56 pm JST

May 24, 2018
09:52 pm JST

I won't venture into the "what is a racist?" issue but I hope JR is treating this every bit as seriously as if he had been stealing from Japanese customers. The same level of apology and action should be expected.

May 24, 2018
09:46 pm JST

I can't figure out how so many posters here determined this guy is racist???

Foreigners are simply easy targets. A Native would definitely notice immediately. This guy is simply a thief. Now the real potential lowlife in this picture is JR. The only reason this guy isn't getting prosecuted is probably because the victims are not Japanese, and cannot be easily contacted.

May 24, 2018
09:42 pm JST

Oh my god. A tourist in Japan got overcharged in Japan . Scream.

but it wasn't overcharging it was stealing. Stealing from the foreign tourists but might now have a lower opinion of Japanese, and stealing from his employer JR. No point talking about anything which happens outside of this country.

May 24, 2018
08:47 pm JST

I've experienced other places trying to rip me off as I am the gullable looking foreigner... they promptly get an ear full afterwards in front of the other shoppers with their management doing the usual appologies, etc.

May 24, 2018
08:30 pm JST

May 24, 2018
08:11 pm JST

Realistically speaking, especially if the victims were tourists here only temporarily, it seems unlikely that they could be found and reimbursed. It is also possible that they only know about those other than the one who complained because the thieving fellow fessed up about those cases.

Foreigners travelljng in a group, distracting each other with chatter, not adept at the local language, maybe too confused or overwhelmed to carefully check receipts etc would be easy targets for this sort of crime. Buts that’s no excuse for this and I would like to see him spend some time in jail.

May 24, 2018
07:21 pm JST

May 24, 2018
07:19 pm JST

May 24, 2018
06:56 pm JST

If you do not like it, why do not you file a complaint? Article 239 of Code of Criminal Procedure says that ANY person, if victim or not, can file a complaint to the public prosecutor or the police of a crime that the person knows happened.

May 24, 2018
06:55 pm JST

Again, a Japanese business letting crap go because the victim was a foreigner. I agree he should have been charged, but unfortunately the people who were ripped off are the only one's who can actually file a complaint.

How much does anyone want to bet that when paying the money back to the one customer who did complain, he never said he "stole" the money, nor did any JR employee either, just apologized for an over payment, and that they were "refunding" the difference.

May 24, 2018
06:51 pm JST

fired a male employee who embezzled about 100,000 yen

But, no criminal charges? He's a thief, liar and a racist. He gave the money back and got fired, so the makes everything alright? I'm quite sure the outcome would have been very different if it was a foreigner ripping-off Japanese people.

May 24, 2018
05:51 pm JST

Ok so only 1 passenger was refunded out of 7, hmm and JR Central said it will not file a criminal complaint against the employee as the overcharged money has already been returned, hmm what about the other 6 passengers who were cheated by this employee, seems favoritism is at play regardless of his termination. He should be charged by the company for theft, extortion, and libel for image to the JR line. That's why it is important to learn the language and or keep receipts.

May 24, 2018
05:49 pm JST

JR東海, how do you know if that passenger was the only one this ..rogue employee did that to?

It seems to me that you've not really bothered to investigate this in depth. Shin-Osaka station isn't exactly shy on foot traffic, so for all people know he could have been doing this to many customers, and for quite some time.

May 24, 2018
05:41 pm JST

May 24, 2018
05:25 pm JST

I swear, only in Japan can you call a Japanese citizen a racist when people say he was targeting foreigners. Just think about it. Let it sink in. JR Central itself should be charged if they don't forward the crime to the police for charges. Thieves will be thieves so letting them walk without punishment sends the wrong message.

May 24, 2018
04:59 pm JST

May 24, 2018
04:56 pm JST

If JR Central doesn't want to look like is is covering up the actions of a racist and theiving employee it needs to go to the police and insist he is prosecuted. Refunding the passenger who complained is not enough.